Waltz With Me Wildcat
by adcgordon
Summary: After a year separated by a European college opportunity Gabriella returns home. But will other open doors keep her and Troy from being together? It'll take a tree, a ring, parents, friends and two stubborn 20-somethings to make it right again.


**Hi all! This one is a Troyella one-shot. It has nothing to do with Parental Consent or Future Boltons, even if there are similarities in places. As always, I own nothing of HSM or these characters except several tubs full of magazines, trinkets and memories. :D**

**Can't wait to hopefully see our fave couple together at the MMA's and Vanessa in RENT in August - my travel plans are in the works!**

**Thanks to you all for reading. I hope you enjoy and for goodness sake, if you see/hear/read any Zanessa news, please let me know. Reviews, PM's, and e-mails are always welcome when it comes to talking Zanessa or HSM! :P**

**KTZLF! -adc

* * *

  
**

One year. That's how long she had spent away from her family and friends. Moving somewhere new wasn't that big of a deal for Gabriella although for the past year she had even been without her mother, and the man who still was the love of her life.

When she got out of the car the smile spread across her face. She knew behind the doors of the small, quiet restaurant sat her past and her future and this was one 'Welcome Home' party that pulled her body and heart toward it.

Maria watched her daughter and smiled softly. She had missed Gabriella. The year that the young lady had spent in Europe prior to her upcoming college graduation was rough on both of them. It had probably been easier on Maria because Troy had kept her company.

Gabriella's boyfriend had become a handyman, shoulder to lean on, and a near son for Maria while Gabriella was gone. The two had shared their conversations with Gabriella; worried together about her; griped about Gabriella's workload – when she should have been enjoying herself; and even shared some three-way calls to try and help calm each other's nerves.

At this particular moment Maria wondered again why Troy had insisted that _she_ pick up Gabriella from the airport. Two weeks ago he had laid out the plans for this party. Two weeks ago Maria would be here playing hostess until Troy and Gabriella arrived. Two weeks ago Troy was practically bubbling with anticipation for his long-time girlfriend to come home.

One week ago there had been a change. That's when Troy changed his mind about going to the airport. Maria thought he had another plan up his sleeve to surprise Gabriella. But as the week wore on and Gabriella's arrival came closer, Troy's attitude changed. In all truth Maria hadn't seen or spoken to Troy in three days. And, if Gabriella had asked her directly about Troy's plans for this evening, her honest answer would now be, _"I don't know."_

So now here they were stepping into the restaurant…Gabriella with the expectation of seeing her love for the first time in months; Maria with the nervous hope that Troy was at least there.

* * *

"WELCOME HOME!!!!!" The words resonated through the small room as a beaming Gabriella walked through the doors. She was quickly greeted by her high school best friends and college roommates with smiles and tears. When Gabriella's five-year college plan became six-years with an international twist they had vowed to all be present for her graduation from Stanford. All of them, including Troy.

She looked around quickly and didn't see her boyfriend but continued hugging the eager faces that surrounded her. Taylor seemed overly anxious to hear about the last year of her friend's life and began dragging her away from the crowd.

"France. Tell me every detail of France. I want to know about Paris, the wine country, where did you study, who did you meet? I want to know _everything._" The dark-skinned girl emphasized.

"Taylor!" Gabriella smiled as she admonished her friend. "I have a room full of people here that I want to see and talk to. Not, not that I don't want to talk to you. But you're in town all week, right? You're staying for graduation. So we'll do a slumber party one night while I'm trying to get back on some kind of sleep schedule."

"Sure." Taylor pouted. "Once Troy shows up none of us will see you again except for the graduation ceremony. You are going through with that aren't you?" she teased with attitude.

"Wait." Gabriella caught onto Taylor's words nervously. "Troy's not here?" she looked at her mother and then several eyes widened as she walked toward Troy's own parents. "Coach? Luce? Troy said he was coming back from Albuquerque with you guys."

Jack Bolton twisted his head toward his wife but kept his eyes focused on his son's girlfriend. "If Troy's been back to Albuquerque, we don't know about it. We haven't seen him in two months. We thought he was meeting you at the airport."

Gabriella looked at the small crowd of people who kept their eyes trained on her. "Mama?" She looked at Maria for a sign of confidence. Gabriella attempted to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice. "Where's Troy? What's he up to?"

Maria's eyes didn't hold reassurance for her daughter this time. "I thought he would be here. He was going to come pick you up, but then last week he told me that I'd need to pick you up. I just figured he had something else planned."

Gabriella thought for a moment, pressing her lips together and looking at her guests. "Chad?"

Troy's best friend shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know Gabster. I haven't talked to Troy in weeks. Figured we'd catch up again here. But I haven't even seen him since I got to town." Chad wrapped an arm around Gabriella's shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. "But you know Troy. Sometimes he just has to do his own thing."

In those few minutes Gabriella realized something very simple. She loved each and every one of the people in this room. But she didn't care about seeing any of them, if Troy wasn't there.

She stepped back to the table where Jack and Lucille Bolton were sitting. "Coach? Can you drive me somewhere, please?" her soft brown eyes pleaded with Troy's father.

Jack immediately stood from the table unsure of what Gabriella needed but willing to give her just about anything. "Sure Sweetheart. Where are we going?"

Gabriella took the coach's hand as a little girl grasps her father's fingers. "I think I know where Troy might be." She mentioned.

Jack looked back at the friends and family who were watching them leave. "We'll be back…I think." He tried to smile.

As they settled in the rental car Gabriella looked at the man who had been like a father to her over the past eight years. "Troy really wasn't in Albuquerque this past week, was he." It really wasn't a question for him to answer.

Jack looked at her as he started the engine of the car and fastened his seatbelt. "No. He told us that he was getting things ready for you to come home. He said he probably wouldn't be in contact with us but to let us know when we got here. Luce called yesterday once we got to the hotel. He didn't answer." He noted the sad look on Gabriella's face.

"And you just figured he was getting stuff ready for me…"

Jack nodded at her. "So where are we heading?"

"Stanford. There's a place in particular over there where Troy likes to go to think." Gabriella shared as she stared out the window.

Jack turned the car in the direction of the college campus. He watched Gabriella as she sat nervously in the passenger seat. The father inside of Jack turned to mush as he observed her worried face, wringing hands and jittery foot-tapping.

"Are you glad to be home?" he finally asked masking a smile on his face.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah." She said just above a whisper. "I'm ready to get on with my life. Europe was a great learning experience. But I'm ready to graduate and get on with the life I'm supposed to have."

Jack turned a little nervous as her words grew serious. "Does…that life? Does it include Troy?"

Gabriella looked at him and cocked her head sideways trying to read him. "It's supposed to." She answered. "At least in my mind it's supposed to." She sighed and looked out the window. "I know we can't live in the past Coach. But my future…the one outside of school books and scholastic challenges…became pretty clear to me six years ago, when Troy came out here to get me on prom night. Maybe that was just him being an impulsive teenager, but that meant more to me… It just… I don't know, it just allowed me to dream a little."

Jack nodded his head slowly and continued looking out the windshield at the road ahead. Gabriella saw the tension in his shoulders release as she spoke to him. And she took that as a good sign. Just a hint that Troy felt the same way…and maybe he had shared that with his father at some point.

The car was quiet again as they passed the road signs leading up to the campus. Graduation signs adorned the yards, marked with the upcoming date and time. At the moment, Gabriella didn't care if she attended that ceremony or not. If, for some reason, Troy wouldn't be there, it really didn't matter to her.

She quietly directed Jack to the quad where she and Troy had waltzed so many times that she had lost count. She had found him in that tree numerous times and numerous times he had thrown her bike into the back of his truck and they had simply taken off for a drive.

On this night there was no truck there. There was no sign that anyone was even close to the area. Jack looked strangely at her when Gabriella told him simply to 'stop here'. She glanced around for just a moment before opening the car door.

"Gabriella, Sweetheart, there's no one here." Jack protested and grabbed her arm to keep her in the car.

"Yes there is." She smiled at him softly and removed her wrist from his gentle grasp. "It'll be fine now Coach. You go back to the party and I'll be back…_we'll_ be back there in a little while."

Jack raised his eyebrows in his fatherly way to disagree with her. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself. You and I both know that I'll feel Maria's wrath _and_ Luce's if I come back without you."

Gabriella laughed a little at his fear of the two moms in her life. Then she walked around to the driver's side window, waited until he rolled it down, leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You know I love you, right?" she grinned as Jack blushed slightly. "I promise you…we'll be back at the party in a little bit. Just believe me, Troy's here and he'll bring me back."

Jack sucked in a breath and let it out through his nose as he contemplated her words and shook his head slightly. "I love you too. You've got your phone, right?" He waited for Gabriella to nod. Jack took his own cell out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the passenger seat. "Call me if you need me to come back and get you. Promise."

Gabriella nodded silently and watched as the coach drove away. She knew Troy had seen the entire exchange between her and his father. So she slowly made her way to the bench below the tree and looked up. "Waltz with me Wildcat. I'm home."

* * *

Troy sat on the lowest limb of the sturdy tree that he had come to know more than well over the past six years. He picked at the bark, pulled his cell from his pocket and glanced at the time and then put the phone away knowing Gabriella's plane had landed and she would soon be back with her mother and heading to the Welcome Home party.

He wanted to be there too. He wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her. After a year of separation with visits that were wonderful, but all too short, he wanted to spend the next year holding onto her.

He took the soft box out of his pocket and rolled it in his hands. The contents of that box should've been given to his girlfriend last year, and would've been…he was sure… if she hadn't accepted the opportunity to study abroad.

He rolled his eyes, remembering the conversation that he and Gabriella had shared under this very tree the day after he had graduated from Berkeley. Once his parents had left to go back to Albuquerque and Maria was heading back home he and Gabriella had come right back to this location. His nerves had mirrored hers, for two completely different reasons. In his pocket had been the engagement ring. In hers was the offer of a year in Europe.

"_You go first." Troy insisted as they both sat on the bench under the tree._

_Gabriella let her eyes wander away from his and the smile that she had worn for three solid days, pride for Troy, began to vanish. _

"_C'mon now. You're two weeks away from graduation. If I made it we both know you can." He took her shaking hand in his and caught her eye enough to see the sheen of tears forming there._

"_Gabriella, come on now. What's going on? I haven't seen you this nervous since high school practically. Whatever it is," he used his index finger to point back and forth between the two of them, "together. We made that promise a long time ago, right?"_

_She nodded at him slowly and reached into her pocket. She pulled the single sheet of folded paper from the material and stared at it. "I…they want…it's an invitation to study abroad, for a year." She finally stumbled._

_Troy froze. "How far abroad?" he dared to ask after a moment of deep thought._

_Gabriella continued to look at her hands, not wanting to see even a hint of disappointment that she knew was in his eyes. "France, Spain, and Italy." She responded with a sigh._

_Troy shifted on the bench and leaned forward resting his forearms on his thighs. They sat silently for another minute before he began to nod, making his entire body rock back and forth. _

"_I'm guessing it's an all-expenses paid kind of thing, am I right?" He finally took the paper from her hands and began to actually read what was written on it._

_Gabriella didn't respond to his question. Instead she turned away from him and folded her hands in her lap._

"_Please tell me you aren't going to turn this down." Troy spoke and looked over his shoulder toward her, still without their eyes meeting._

_She gripped her hands tighter together until her knuckles began to turn white. "It would mean another entire year before I would graduate. Another year of us, not allowed to be completely 'us' together. As exciting as it sounds, I'm really not sure about it."_

_Troy turned and looked at her face. She dropped her eyes from his immediately and scooted another inch away from him. In return he moved toward her enough for their thighs to touch and he tucked his index finger under her chin, pushing on it until she finally met him eye to eye._

"_Would this…distance and time apart change 'us'?" Troy challenged her._

_She tried to pull her face away from his touch but couldn't. "That's not what I meant and you know it. We've talked about what we want to do after graduation Troy. And this year those plans can finally happen. Unless I don't graduate."_

"_Gabriella." Troy spoke just to get her attention. "It's one year. Nothing in this letter says you can't come home to visit or that I can't come to you. You can't pass up something as amazing as Europe. You have to go."_

_Troy finally allowed her to drop her chin and stare at her hands again. "I knew that's what you would say." Gabriella admitted. _

_They sat for a few more minutes under the tree until Gabriella sighed and reached out to grab Troy's hand. "At least I'm not trying to say 'goodbye' this time." She attempted to smile._

"_Because you know it won't work." Troy leaned his shoulder against her and nuzzled his nose against her cheek. "Of course if I have to come get you in Spain…that might not be so bad." They finally looked at each other and smiled genuinely before sharing a simple kiss._

_Troy started to get up to lead them back to Gabriella's dorm but she tugged on his hand. "Wait. What was your news?" she realized quickly that he hadn't shared any information with her._

_Troy felt the push of the ring box inside of his pocket and swallowed the lump in his throat. "It's nothing that won't wait." He smiled at her. _

"_No, Wildcat, you have to at least give me a hint. Is it my graduation gift? Wait, did you find a job already?" Her excitement level grew as she thought about the various post-graduation happenings that they had discussed._

"_Whatever it was," Troy stopped her and looked her in the eyes, "it's gonna have to wait a year. I'll promise you this though, I won't forget it."_

_Gabriella wasn't ready to drop the subject but Troy obviously wasn't going to give in to her. Instead he took her by the hand and pulled her toward his truck, the shiny, new truck that Jack and Lucille had provided for him as a college graduation gift. _

"_Tell ya what," Troy began as they got into the vehicle. "Let's go grab some pizza, take it back to Maria's and start looking at all the maps I'm willing to bet you've bought over the past few weeks." He stopped for a minute and looked curiously at Gabriella. "How long have you known about this?"_

_Her brown eyes still watched him nervously. "About a month."_

"_Then why am I just now finding out about it?" Troy placed a warm hand on her cheek._

"_Because I knew what you would say." Gabriella's bottom lip began to quiver. "And I just don't like the idea of you being willing to let me go."_

_Her truthful answer made Troy sit back in his seat to accept the full impact. The box in his pocket told him that he shouldn't let her go. But he wasn't sure how to tell her that the fight between his heart and his head would always decide in favor of what Gabriella wanted or needed._

_Troy sat back up and turned to look at her. "For the record, I don't want you to go. But I love you. And I know that this time next year we'll have the entire world ahead of us. And at that point it'll be us, together."_

From his perch in the tree Troy's heart sank again, just as it had the previous year. A similar war was raging inside his heart and head. There he sat again, but this time he had had more than just a few minutes to mull over the situation. This time he had had time to be hurt, get angry, lash out and yet come to the same conclusion. He still had to do what was best for Gabriella.

The sound of a car driving by pulled his mind from the thoughts of last year. When the car stopped he knew exactly who was going to get out of it before the door even opened. He didn't try to hide. There was no way he could, especially if a person knew where to look, he was blatantly obvious in his t-shirt, jeans and sneakers on the low tree limb.

He watched as the dark haired girl spoke to the man in the car. He saw her get out and then go around to the opposite side and kiss the man on the cheek. He did have to smile just a little at that. And then he looked away as her footsteps on the grass got closer.

His breath stopped when he saw her beautiful face looking up at him, and heard her soft voice inviting him to dance. Even after a year Troy was still wrapped around her pinky finger.

With that thought he jumped from the tree and stood directly in front of her, neither of them smiling. Their hands immediately fell into place on each other's bodies. And with no sound of music in the air at all, they began a silent waltz that only the two of them could share.

Gabriella could feel the tension in his muscles. She saw the clenched knot of his jaw and felt his hands clasping and unclasping against her clothing. He didn't try to bend and kiss her. He let her spin but didn't twirl her. And he didn't speak, not even a word to greet her. So after the third winding path around their tree she stopped.

She looked into his practically glazed eyes and let her own shift between them. Troy didn't have to look at her for Gabriella to see some kind of hurt, frustrated gaze. She let go of his hand and stepped back wanting to take in his full appearance. He certainly wasn't dressed for her party. Now her own hurt and anger were beginning to simmer inside.

"Three hundred fifty-eight days Troy. A week shy of a year. What happened last week? Why did you lie to me? Where have you been and why didn't you come to pick me up at the airport? We promised each other that after this year we would be us, together. Are you quitting on me now?" Gabriella's eyes bore into his heart deeper than the lack of her presence. He moved slightly and thought about the words he wanted to say.

He backed away another step and chanced looking at her with arms crossed over her chest. "Amazing opportunities are going to come your way your whole life. I can't fight against them Gabriella. I can't keep telling you to accept them. It hurts too much."

Her eyes focused on him and eyebrows furrowed deeply. "What are you talking about Troy?"

"Your job offers in Europe. I should've known. You are so talented, so beautiful, once they knew what kind of skills you have…I just…I never thought about you getting job offers while you were there. I imagined they would be coming in from all over the states once you graduated. But I never thought about Europe."

Gabriella stood dumbfounded. She hadn't mentioned anything to Troy about job offers. Yes they had come to her. But she had never talked to Troy about them. "How did you know?"

Troy ignored her question and reached into his pocket. He sat down on the bench and began to flip the box around in his hand. Gabriella's eyes grew wide as she looked at the object in his hand.

"Last year," Troy began again, "I told you I wouldn't forget. And I haven't Gabriella. I had this ring in my pocket when you told me about the chance you had to go to Europe. I'm still not sure what was going through my mind when you told me. I just know that I love you and I want what's best for you."

Gabriella covered her mouth as Troy stood from the bench and stepped toward her. But instead of opening the box and kneeling down in front of her, he held the box out for her to take it in her hands.

When her shaking hand reached out, Troy carefully gave her the box and softly rubbed one finger over her thumb.

"What's best for you is for me to just stop pretending. I don't want to hold you back. _You_ have to decide on those amazing opportunities and what's best for you." Troy spoke with a soft but commanding voice. "Just know that I love you, ok? No matter where you are in the world. I love you."

Gabriella tried to take in what his words meant. She couldn't decide if he was breaking up with her, proposing to her…somehow… or exactly what was going on. "Troy?" she whispered as he turned his back.

She held the box in one hand as she wiped her other across her face. The tears she felt swelling inside of her couldn't come out because of the absolute shock that was running through her.

"You need to take me back to my party." She finally said without thinking. "Where's your truck? We need to go."

Troy looked at her and nodded his head. He was waiting for her to yell, cry, react in some way. But in the meantime he would do as she requested. He pointed up the one-way street to the small pickup truck. Then he followed behind her as Gabriella began the short trek to the familiar vehicle.

He watched as she climbed in and wrapped the seatbelt around her. The belt was followed by her arms wrapping around her petite body. Even in her distraught state Troy thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He was already regretting the scene that had just played out between them. And he was quite sure, if he survived this, that he would never love another woman the way he loved Gabriella.

When he started the engine he heard the soft cries that she was trying to muffle.

"I'm sorry." He offered in a weak explanation. "This…this isn't how…but I just…I need to let you go before things get so complicated." She wasn't exactly a captive audience. Troy didn't even know if she was listening. And he certainly had no clue what he was saying…but he wanted to try and help her understand that this decision was for her.

"Gabriella. I just need you to know that you don't have to choose between me and a job that will take you to a different country. I love you and I know you deserve what is best for you." Troy knew he was rambling and he prayed that something would make sense.

Finally Gabriella turned her face toward him. The tear stains ran down her cheeks and straight into Troy's heart. He knew he had hurt her. Those stains were his fault this time. But he also felt that both of them would get over it.

"What's best for me…right now…is for you to just shut up Troy. Just shut up and take me back to my _party. _I'm sure everyone will be delighted to see me like this. And they'll be thrilled to know that I'm home and back where _you _can make all my decisions for me." Gabriella's choked voice did nothing to improve Troy's mood.

He lifted his hands from the steering wheel momentarily to show her that he surrendered. He would stop talking and simply take her back to the party. He took one more glance at her before focusing his eyes on the road. He swallowed hard realizing that he would have to break sometime. When it finally hit him that she was home and not in his arms…yes, he would have to break.

"Do you want me to walk you in?" Troy dared to ask, the first words he had spoken since Gabriella had ordered him to shut up.

They pulled up in front of the restaurant and the truck stopped abruptly.

Gabriella looked at him, features hardened, salty streaks still marring her face. Nothing made sense to her now. Not the feelings of anger in her soul, not the overwhelming need to slap the man beside her, nothing made sense.

Troy waited for her answer. Once in the past eight years he had seen her like this. He remembered the day vividly, when she had overheard him lie to his basketball teammates about their budding relationship. The hurt he had seen in her eyes that day mirrored this one, but today was obviously a hundred times worse. This time he was saying the hurtful words to her face. Only Troy was sure this was best for her future this time. To him, this hurt, in the long run, would be best for Gabriella.

Gabriella finally shook her head. "What do you think Troy?" she began with a flood of sarcasm covering the choking sob that wanted to be released. "What's best for me right now? We are supposed to be in there, celebrating with _our_ friends and family. I'm back home safely, I graduate this weekend, I came home assuming I could finally spend some time with the man that I love." She hesitated, swallowed and continued. "But apparently that _man_ doesn't have the balls to tell me what's going on. _He thinks_ he knows what's best for me."

When Troy reached a hand toward her she promptly smacked it away from her body. There was no way she wanted him to touch her right now. She turned to tug on the door handle to try and get out of the truck but stalled when she heard his voice.

"Gabriella. I overheard Maria talking to you on the phone. I know you have job offers in Europe. You know how you can't stand saying 'goodbyes'? Well I can't stand the thought of having to let you go again. But I realize that these are opportunities you can't pass up. And I don't want to stand in the way of them. I can't go with you. I can't follow you this time. But I love you and you have to grab this chance while you can. You're amazing. I keep telling you that, and now the whole world knows it." He finally allowed his voice to shake. "I hoped to keep it a secret but that's pretty selfish of me. I'm sorry."

Gabriella shook her head but didn't look back at him. "Sometimes Troy, if you really love someone, it's ok to be selfish." She stepped from the truck, slammed the door behind her and walked directly to the restaurant. She turned just in time to see the vehicle pull away from the curb.

* * *

The joyful ambiance died when Gabriella walked back into the restaurant alone. Jack was the first to step to her side and wrap an arm around her shoulders with a worried look on his face.

"Troy's parking the truck?" he asked with an assuming tone. He watched as Gabriella leaned against his shoulder and shook her head.

"No." she whispered to him, looking up into the older man's face. "I don't know where he's going but he's not coming in here."

Jack gripped her shoulder tighter and pulled her around in order to look at her closer. The tears were obvious, her sunken eyes were void of the happiness she had shown earlier, and he could even feel a sense of heartbreak coming from her.

"Come. Sit down." Jack invited and looked directly at Lucille and Maria.

The crowd that wanted to gather around Gabriella held back. All of them knew something had happened. Something that required a mother's touch, or in this case two of them.

Taylor quickly handled the group and dismissed the party. "We're all at the same hotel. Let's just meet for breakfast in the morning and we'll get back together once Gabriella has had a chance to rest a little bit." She smiled at the group warmly and then looked at Chad. Both knew 'rest' wasn't going to fix this situation.

Gabriella didn't even notice as the group left. She sat down and stared at the glass of water that Jack sat in front of her. He stroked the back of her hair and looked at his wife and Gabriella's mother. "I don't know." He mouthed to the women who immediately pulled chairs to either side of Gabriella.

With Gabriella in the security of family Jack looked at Chad. "I'm gonna need some help. Chad, come with me?" he requested. Chad nodded in response. He squeezed Taylor's shoulder signifying that all would be ok and walked toward the coach.

"I need to find Troy. I have no clue what's going on, but we have to find him." Jack looked Chad directly in the eye. "They've come too far for something to go wrong now. I'm not letting it happen."

Chad looked back at his high school coach with the game face that was more than agreement enough for Jack to embrace. The two men looked at the four women who were left in the room. "We'll be back." Jack stated simply.

The women sat together silently for a few minutes. Maria held her daughter with arms around her shoulders while Lucille brushed fingers over her cheek, through her hair and down her arm. Taylor reached across the small table and encouraged Gabriella to take her hands, just for more support.

After a few minutes of listening to the quiet Maria finally spoke up. "Briella? Sweetheart, help us help you. You found Troy, right?"

Gabriella nodded and looked into Taylor's face. She took her hand back from Taylor's and proceeded to pull the small box from the pocket of her skirt. She sat the box on the table and then took a deep breath, loosened Maria's grip around her and straightened her shoulders resiliently.

All three of the women gasped at the sight not knowing whether to smile, congratulate Gabriella, or stay silent. They chose the last option waiting for the dark haired young lady to say something.

Gabriella pursed her lips together, stared at the box and inhaled a deep volume of oxygen. "He's had this for a year…over a year." She finally shared. "Last year, when I told him about the Study Abroad progam…" she hesitated as she thought about that conversation, "he was going to propose."

She stopped talking and looked again at Taylor with a nearly blank stare in her eyes. A tear slipped down her face but Gabriella didn't even attempt to wipe it away. "I remember asking him what his news was. We were both so excited. If the tables had turned and he had proposed to me first, I wouldn't have gone to Europe. I would have graduated and stayed right here." She admitted adamantly.

Maria tucked a strand of hair behind Gabriella's ear. Now was certainly not the right time to let her daughter know that she had been privy to that information last year. Maria was the one other person who knew of the dilemma that the college students faced and had prayed almost constantly that they would find an answer together. To her knowledge, until this past week, she thought they had found an answer. And instead of consoling her daughter right now…Maria thought she would be congratulating her on their engagement, not staring at the engagement ring box.

Lucille pressed on with gentle questions. "Troy didn't even hint at proposing that night?"

Gabriella shook her head and looked into Lucille's eyes. "Nope. He celebrated with me and we came back to my dorm room to start packing my stuff and looking at where I'd be going. Apparently _that_ was in his pocket the entire time." She paused and glanced at Taylor, thinking of what had transpired earlier, "And I had no clue."

Taylor took her turn, edging forward to what was going on now. "And while you were in Europe, no talk of engagement? Not even when he visited you or while you were at home for the two week breaks?"

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. She sat forward in her chair and reached out to take the box in her fingers. She turned it over and over as she answered. "Of course we talked about it. At least once a week, especially toward the end of the course. Troy kept saying, '_After graduation…we'll get engaged, find jobs and then start planning our wedding.'_

Taylor watched Gabriella. Her mouth nearly puckered as she said the words that Troy had told her. "So what happened?" Taylor finally asked with the fervor of a truly curious best friend.

Gabriella startled them all as she threw her hands in the air, stood from the chair and turned her back on them nearly causing the chair to topple. "Damn him!" they watched as she put her arms around herself attempting to hold in the emotions. "Does he not think that I can figure out what's best for _me_? I am 23 years old. I've spent the last year in Europe but when it comes to us being together can he _not_ let me make a decision for _myself???_"

Maria, Lucille and Taylor looked at each other and then back at Gabriella. None of them wanted to tell her to calm down and none had any advice to offer. They were still standing on the outside of the situation and couldn't even dream of what Troy might have done.

Maria licked her lips softly, suddenly feeling a bit unlike sharing her daughter with Taylor or Troy's mother. Her motherly connection to her daughter was returning and it was obvious that Troy had done something to cut Gabriella deeply. That's the only thing that would cause her daughter to curse the man she loved.

"Briella? Do you want to go home where we can talk about this? You'll come home with me," Maria focused on her daughter leaving Lucille and Taylor even more on the outside. "We'll talk about this and figure out what _you_ need to do next." She urged.

Lucille and Taylor kept quiet, obviously wanting to hear Gabriella's answer and reading Maria's motherly instincts of protector to her only child.

"Mama, I don't know what direction I'm going in right now. I…UGH!" she spat with an exasperated sigh. With a hand placed over her mouth she shook her head, thought and then shook it again.

Taylor took a chance and stepped forward to ask her question again, this time with a quiet voice. "Gabriella, can you just tell us what happened…tonight?"

She thought a minute and looked at Maria. With eyebrows furrowed she looked back at Taylor and then Lucille. "I had," she debated what she wanted to tell them, "some job offers…in Europe."

Taylor's eyes widened as she cupped her hands over her astonished mouth. She stepped closer to Gabriella and opened her arms for a hug but Gabriella put up a hand in front of her to stop the action. She noticed Lucille's crossed arms and an almost sad look on her face.

"Troy never mentioned…" Lucille attempted to put a smile of understanding on her face as she looked at Gabriella.

"_Troy didn't know._" Gabriella informed her honestly. "At least he wasn't supposed to know. I never told him about the offers." She glanced down at her hands when Lucille's look turned curious.

After a deep breath Gabriella went back to the table and urged her mothers and friend to join her again. She leaned her forearms on the table and for the first time opened the box that held the engagement ring. For a moment she admired the simple diamond and ran her index finger over the facets and the smoothness of the platinum band. She wanted it on her finger so badly…but wanted Troy to put it there.

She looked up from the ring at her mother's determined face and reached out for Maria's hand. "We had two conversations about the jobs. Right?" she searched Maria's face as they both thought. Then she glanced at Taylor.

"What would Troy say if I told him about job offers in Spain and Italy? What would he say?" Taylor nodded her head, just as Lucille did. Lucille answered.

"He'd tell you to stay in Europe, take one of the jobs, get the experience." Lucille looked up at her, again with a somewhat lost look. "And then he would find a way to follow you there."

Gabriella nodded her head loosely. "Right, and wrong." She answered and looked at Lucille directly. "When Troy visited me in Spain he talked about how much he admired me for staying somewhere, so far away from family, and so foreign. He said he could never do that."

"But he would, for you." Lucille interjected.

"But I wouldn't ask him to. You know how much he's sacrificed for me. From the night we met Troy's been giving up his dreams so that I could have mine." Gabriella looked down at her hands knowing that her realization was correct.

Taylor shook her head. "His dreams changed when you came along. He didn't give up his dreams, he had new ones that included you. We all know that."

Gabriella shook her head. "I won't say I didn't consider the offers. But Troy was right. I have already spent too much time away from my family…and that family includes him," she looked into Lucille's eyes, "and you, Mom, and Coach." She watched as Lucille hung her head with pleasure, knowing that they had been practically family for years now.

"When I weighed my options with Mom," her eyes turned to her real mother, "_we_ decided that coming home was really the only option. _We_ decided that. Mainly _me." _ Gabriella emphasized as she looked at each of the other women. "I am capable of making my own decisions and deciding what's best for my life."

"But?" Lucille offered.

Gabriella sighed harshly with an angry look on her face. "_BUT_, Troy apparently overheard at least part of one of my conversations with Mom. I'm guessing it was our last one because we talked for nearly an hour and a half about pros and cons and what the jobs were." Gabriella stopped when Maria continued the thought.

"And you talked about the infinite list of pros, with no cons, about coming home to a life with Troy." Maria watched the blush on Gabriella's face as they both recalled the depth of that conversation. "Troy was working out in the yard that day at the house. He must have come in for a drink or something and overheard the conversation." Maria remembered the day.

She sat for a moment just thinking as Gabriella, Taylor and Lucille watched her roll the thoughts through her head. "He had been planting some trees for me. And when I went out to tell him the brownies were done he was slamming the shovel into the ground like he was digging a grave or something. I asked him what was wrong and he kept his back to me. I saw him wipe his eyes with his shirt sleeves but I didn't think about it. He said the ground was rough. And he said he'd have to get the brownies later, he didn't want to come in the house as dirty as he was."

Gabriella sucked in a breath. "He had already made up his mind about what _I _needed to do. And he didn't even know what was going on." Gabriella hit the table with her fist.

She stood up again and walked away from the table. Then she turned back and picked up the engagement ring in the box and snapped the lid shut. She glared into the open space with an angry, determined look on her face. "Not…this…time." She stated. "I came back here to make my life with him. This time he's just being stupid. We haven't even talked about this." She squeezed the box in her hand watching Taylor especially.

"He said his peace. Now it's my turn." Lucille and Maria both focused on the fire in Gabriella's brown eyes. They still didn't understand what had happened that evening, but something inside of both of them told them that the Gabriella Montez who loved Troy Bolton was not about to give up this easily. And if it took an argument to jerk Troy back into reality, then she was willing to give it to him.

"Taylor, I need a ride to Troy's apartment. Mom, I'll drive my car home once I'm finished with Troy. Luce, I'll see you and Coach tomorrow…maybe."

Taylor touched Gabriella's arm a little unsurely, "What do you mean…when you're _finished_ with Troy?"

Gabriella laughed sarcastically. "Either he'll want me back or he'll be glad to let me go. Troy Bolton has just barely seen the angry side of me. But tonight, I'm exhausted. I wanted to enjoy my party and then go back to our apartment and fall asleep in his arms…among other things," she mused under her breath. "Instead he's pissed me off. If he loves me enough to let me go then he ought to love me enough to keep me once I'm finished yelling at him." She snickered a little nervously.

"Is yelling all you're gonna do?" Taylor inquired. "I won't take you if you're going to be violent."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's time Troy knows that I'm a big girl and can make some decisions for myself. Right now, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he understands that."

Taylor pulled the keys from her purse. "Then I guess my best option is to take you to him."

Maria smiled at the determined girl in front of her. "Should I wait up for you?"

Gabriella nodded with a hint of worry on her face as she bit her lip.

Taylor rubbed her shoulder and pointed toward the door.

"Good luck Sweetheart." Maria and Lucille spoke nearly in unison.

"Oh, and Briella?" Maria raised an eyebrow as Gabriella turned to look at her. "When you come home…make sure to drive on the right side of the road." She pointed her index finger at her daughter.

Gabriella winked at her mother. "Love you Mom, I'll see you in a bit."

* * *

Troy slammed the ball onto the court grabbing it as soon as possible after it soared into the air. Then, he slammed it again. There was no dribbling. There was no calming his emotions, his muscles or his thoughts this time.

He had done it. He had let her go. And if she understood anything about the opportunities that were ahead of her she would just accept this. She didn't need a fiancé, or a serious boyfriend holding her back.

Was he ticked that she hadn't even mentioned the job offers to him? Yeah. Absolutely yes. Why did she do this? Why did she hold off telling him about these amazing chances in her life? He would always tell her to make the best of those opportunities. He would not be the reason for her regret later in life.

And, one pin-hole of light shined into his brain, what was that old saying? _If you love something let it go…if it's meant to be it'll come back to you._ Perhaps someday, she would come back to him. Someday.

The ball left his hand and slammed onto the court again. The buzzing of his cell phone wasn't helping matters. He threw the ball against the wall and walked over to the folding chair to wipe his face. With a glance at the phone he saw an unfamiliar number ringing in.

He accepted the call but started the conversation tersely. "Now is not the best time." He stated with the only hint of restraint that he could muster.

"Dude just tell me where you are before your dad calls the police." Chad went with the fibbing route to simply try and draw Troy's attention away from whatever was plaguing his mind.

"Let him. Wouldn't matter anyway." Troy answered, again curt and to the point.

"Troy, c'mon man you don't mean that. You gotta tell me what the hell is going on. Where were you tonight?" Chad tried to keep him on the phone. "Where are you now?"

"Where do you think I am?" Troy spat the question out. "I'm on a plane heading to the Bahamas…"

"Don't finish that I'm handing the phone to the Coach." Chad notified him with a similar tone.

"What the…" Troy started and then heard his father's voice.

"Troy what's going on? We're almost at the apartment complex. I know you're there. It's me, you and Chad. Talk to us."

Troy sighed. "I'm in the gym. It's in the main building, next to the offices." He informed his father with a defeated voice. "I don't have a lot to say. But you're welcome to come shoot hoops with me."

"We'll be there in ten." Jack announced and ended the call. His son sounded hurt. His daughter was practically crushed. He didn't know how to help either of them, except to be there.

As soon as Chad and Jack walked in the doors of the gym Troy looked at their attire. They both slid off their dress shoes and took off their button-down shirts and ties to be a bit more comfortable. They watched Troy blatantly miss the basket aiming for power more than the net on those throws.

When they finally slid in their sock feet out onto the court Troy sent a ball flying to Chad. They sized each other up, eyes not blinking, no smiles in sight. Chad dribbled the ball twice and then held it still as he watched Troy's eyes. "What gives?" he asked simply.

Jack stood on the sideline with arms crossed watching the boys. Troy looked toward his father and back at his lifelong brother. "She has job offers in Europe." He spoke loud enough for both men to hear.

Chad shot the ball and let it swish through the net on the first try. Jack ambled down the court to retrieve the orange and black sphere. "So what?" Chad watched as Troy bent over, hands on his knees working to catch his breath. "You go with her and find a job."

Troy looked at Chad with sweat dripping from his brown bangs. "Europe Chad. Spain, Italy…what the hell am I gonna find to do there?"

Chad shrugged and stared at him. "What the hell are you gonna find to do here?"

Troy took a pass from his dad and looked back at his friend. "I graduated with a degree in education if you might recall. I have a teaching job. And once I get through the next couple of years I'll start working on my master's degree. I'll be fine."

Jack watched as Troy dribbled hard and spun around Chad before taking a shot that bounced off the backboard. "So tell her you want her to stay."

Troy and Chad both went for the ball. Troy turned to glare at his father before jerking the ball out of Chad's hands. "Yeah. And she stays and three years down the road she's complaining that she regrets not taking the extra time in an international job." He shot the ball again, this time making the easy layup as Chad and Jack looked on. Troy grabbed the ball again and looked at his father and friend. "I will not be the reason she regrets that. Not if I can help it."

Chad knocked the ball out of Troy's hand and held it tightly in his hands with his back turned, still trying to look at Troy. "Don't you think she's thought this through? You aren't in high school anymore. She's twenty-three Troy and a lot more settled than she was back then. She's lived on her own for the past year. I'd say she's capable of deciding whether she wants to be in Europe for work or back here."

Troy stepped back letting his arms hang to his side but stretching his neck and chin up before swallowing hard and looking at both of the other men. "This job thing for her… it's just like the Stanford Honors Program. It's just like the sophomore trip to D.C. that she nearly passed up. It's just like this study abroad thing. _She didn't tell me about it._" Troy shook his head.

"These things that are amazing opportunities for her…she doesn't tell me about them because she wants to do them and she's afraid they'll hurt me." He slammed the ball down again on the court and watched it bounce into the air multiple times. "What hurts me more is that she won't tell me about them. She knows I'll tell her that she should do them. You can't pass up opportunities like that. But she won't talk to me about them until it's nearly too late. I want to know about those opportunities so I can celebrate with her and enjoy her happiness."

Jack and Chad both looked at the ground. What Troy said made sense. The couple seemed so in tune to each other, even when thousands of miles apart. But this was one flaw that they needed to talk about. Both of them snapped their heads up when Troy continued talking.

"I gave her an engagement ring tonight." He stopped.

"What?!" Jack and Chad looked at Troy from the sideline.

"I've had it for a year. She told me about this Europe study thing the same night I was going to propose last year, after I graduated. I just kept it in my pocket. Tonight I gave it to her cause I don't want it anymore. She shouldn't have to choose between me and a job." Troy gently began putting the ball through the net from directly under the basket.

"I overheard Maria on the phone last weekend talking to Gabriella about these job offers. She said they sounded pretty amazing for entry level positions. And she told Gabriella that it would be hard to find something like that here in the states." He threw three more shots through the net.

"I have no doubts that she'll have job offers coming in like crazy over here. But if Maria's right then she shouldn't pass those up. Maria doesn't want her to pass them up." The scowl on Troy's face was evident after the last statement.

Jack stepped toward him. "Are you mad at Maria?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter. She's right. I just thought after this past year…I really thought that she respected me enough to encourage Gabriella to come home. She knew I was going to propose to Gabriella last year. She knew I was going to propose to her tonight. I guess I was wrong about how she feels towards me."

The ball rolled from Troy's hand onto the hardwood and Jack watched him walk to the chairs and pick up his towel to wipe the sweat from his face. Troy looked back at the two men who were trying to think of something to keep him from continuing with a decision that they both felt was still a mistake.

"Troy I think you're wrong. You heard a phone conversation, one phone conversation. You know Maria. You know she loves you and she gave you her blessing to marry Gabriella. That's her only daughter Troy. Of course she's going to look out for her. But Maria trusts her in your care. Maybe they talked about you going back to Europe with her. That's why Maria encouraged her toward those jobs because she knew you'd be with her to take care of her."

Troy looked up at his dad with the sadness of the evening written through his eyes. "Neither one of them mentioned these job offers Dad. Neither of them. Moving out of the country? That's huge. That's not something you spring on someone you love. I decided on Berkeley over a couple of months to be near Gabriella. This other stuff, she's shot at me within just a week or two of leaving. I'm tired of being the last one to know about it and the one who's supposed to cheer her on as I'm giving her the last bit of encouragement."

The three men stood with just the sounds of their breath making noise. Chad sat down in one of the chairs and looked up at Troy. "So let me get this straight. She has job offers in what, Spain and Italy. But she graduates this weekend and came back home for graduation. And the first thing she wanted when she walked into that restaurant was to see you. When she does find you, you hand her an engagement ring but you didn't propose. Then what, you just told her it was over?"

Troy crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I told her that she didn't have to choose between me and Europe. She knows how I feel about this kind of thing. She knows I would tell her to go. This time she doesn't have to worry about filling me in on it. She can just go and do what she needs to do."

"Well Happy Graduation Gabriella." Chad shook his head at his friend. "That sucks man. Are you sure you love her?"

Troy stepped toward Chad causing Jack to quickly step in between. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I love her. I love her more than anything else in this world. How can you even ask that?" Troy's fists doubled together as Jack pushed him away from Chad.

"If that's true then you need to screw your head back on. If you love her that much then you shouldn't be giving up, you should be fighting for her. Give her a reason to stay here Troy. Did you ever think of the opportunities the two of you have together?" Chad stood back up and urged Jack to move from between them. Troy's father reluctantly moved and watched Chad put his hands on Troy's shoulders.

"What was all that you told me about a month or two ago about Spain? Didn't you guys really talk about your future over there? Your future, together?" He kept his voice low, unsure of what Troy may have shared with his father about that particular trip and the time that Troy and Gabriella spent together there. "If you meant that, then you need to rethink being a martyr here Troy. She's the person your life has revolved around for the past eight years. You'd better think about not having her…permanently…if you really want to go through with it."

Troy's shoulders slumped. He looked at Chad and back at his father before swiping the towel over his face and hair. "It's already done." He mumbled. Jack noticed the absolute sunken look on his son's face. "Do you guys mind? I just need to be alone for a while. I'm going home."

Chad and Jack watched him leave and practically stumble toward his apartment building. They debated following him but decided that Troy had to handle this himself. If he wanted Gabriella, she was back and he'd have to make this right.

If letting her go was his final decision the two men shook their heads at the thought… "If I know Gabs, like I think I do," Chad commented at the idea of a breakup, "she won't give in to this. I'd say Hoops is gonna see a side of Gabriella that he won't like."

* * *

Troy turned the key to his apartment door and made his way in throwing the ball into the basket by the door and slamming the door behind him. As he wandered toward his bedroom a familiar scent stopped him. He turned toward the living room trying to decide if the smell of Gabriella's perfume was real, or a figment of his imagination.

She was sitting on the couch, back turned toward him, her dark hair draped over her shoulders in loose ringlets.

"How did you…" Troy began, not wanting to actually share a conversation with her.

"I do still have a key." Gabriella fired back at him.

"I'll get a bag out of the closet. You don't have many clothes still here, it won't take long to pack them." Troy again headed toward the bedroom.

Gabriella came off the couch and followed him toward the room they were supposed to be sharing at this very moment. "I don't want my clothes Troy. You took your time to kick me out of your life. The least you can do is give me five minutes."

"Gabriella that's not what…"

"FIVE MINUTES TROY! Just listen to me and I'll be gone. You can throw away my clothes and whatever else of mine is here. I don't care. I obviously don't need it."

Troy sat down on the bed turning his back toward Gabriella. He didn't want to listen. But for her, he would.

Gabriella stared at the back of his head. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to throw her arms around him. She wanted to make love to him. Before her tears began again she took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves.

"I've been writing the name Gabriella Bolton on my notebooks and scratch pads since we were seniors in high school Troy. Since I came to East High and you put that T necklace on me I finally felt some stability Troy. Stability. That's what I didn't want to give up by going to Stanford. That's what I wanted to hang onto with the Europe study. As long as I was still in college I knew you'd give me stability."

Troy turned his head a bit and stayed quiet to hear what else she had to say.

"I was worried about what would happen after graduation, to us. But when you came to Spain, those first three days you were there, you promised me that even after graduation I'd still have stability because I would still - have - you. We barely got out of bed those three days Troy. I have _never_ felt that close to anyone. Not anyone. I don't want to feel that way about anyone else Troy because I love you." The muffled sound of her voice alerted Troy to the tears that had started falling from her eyes.

"Those jobs offered me nothing. All I could dream about for the past year was coming back home and becoming Mrs. Gabriella Bolton, your wife, Mrs. Troy Bolton. That stability was what kept me going Troy. And after Spain I knew my dream was going to come true." Gabriella coughed from the force of her tears that were now falling freely. Troy still couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"Don't you get it Troy? I didn't tell you about the job offers because my mind was already made up. I just wanted to come home to be with you. You are the stability in my life. Not jobs in another country, not the experience or the amazing opportunity. I'm old enough to make my own decisions Troy. I decided to come home because I…love…you."

Troy turned a bit more but before he could look at her Gabriella's voice raised to a yell.

"_Did you lie to me in Spain Troy? Was that all an act for some theater class? I thought you loved me too. You're a hell of an actor Troy Bolton. Your act has had me hooked since high school."_ Troy heard a sarcastic laugh escape her throat in between the choked sobs.

"_The first time we made love we promised each other that we'd never share that with anyone else. We made that promise again…do you remember…or were those just words you threw out because it felt so good to have me pinned underneath you?"_

Troy's head jerked around at that accusation and met the burning eyes of his lover. "Don't Gabriella. I did _not_ lie to you in Spain. I meant every word, every feeling that we shared. Don't take that away."

"_Why not? Isn't that what you've done? You've pulled the wool over my eyes and my Mom's. We both trusted you Troy."_

Troy turned his back again to hide his own tears from Gabriella. Her voice calmed enough to continue.

"The conversation you heard…Mom was playing devil's advocate…pointing out all the pros of those job offers. Every one that she came up with, I had a point to contradict it. And all of those cons had to do with being away from you. She wants me home Troy and she wants me with _you_. I didn't tell you about the job offers because there was _nothing to tell_. I decided not to accept any of them because I need to be right here with you. And mom agrees with me. You can't make this decision for me this time Troy because it's already been made. This isn't college anymore. I thought my most amazing opportunity was right back here in your arms."

Gabriella pulled the ring box from her pocket and threw it on the bed beside Troy. "I love you and more than anything I want to be Mrs. Troy Bolton. But I don't want that ring unless you come with it."

With that her tirade ended, the door to the bedroom closed and Troy heard the door to the apartment close as well. He looked at the ring box sitting next to him and tried to play her words over again in his mind. Instead, his mind drifted to the place that he would never be able to share with anyone else…three days in Spain.

* * *

"_I can't believe we get an entire week together. No parents, no roommates, no school, no work, no practices or rehearsals." Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck just inside the apartment she was sharing with two other students. Those roommates had gone back to the states for a week to see their families. Gabriella, however had stayed, and with a little help from Jack, Lucille and Maria, Troy had come to her._

"_So," Troy quickly pressed his lips to Gabriella's and smiled, "How on earth are we going to spend an entire week with just the two of us, together, the entire time, by ourselves?"_

_They both laughed until Troy saw Gabriella begin to nibble on her bottom lip. "What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" he questioned and she shyly shrugged her shoulders._

"_Can we…maybe…" she looked at Troy's shirt and began to play with the hairs at the back of his neck._

"_Can we what?" Troy urged her to continue. "It's just us Baby, me and you. Tell me what you want."_

_Gabriella looked up at him and pressed her lips together. "You promise you won't think I'm…like…nevermind…I can't even say it."_

_Troy rubbed her back, then moved a finger under her chin, lifting her face until he could see her eyes again. "Hey, if you can't tell me then who will you ever tell. Does it have anything to do with sex? Cause I'll admit right now I'm in complete favor of anything you might suggest that's related to that topic." He laughed._

_Gabriella laughed with him, smacked him on the back, but then looked into his eyes again. "Could we make love, then just stay in bed with each other and just be together as much as possible?" her pleading eyes melted his heart._

"_I would love nothing more than to spend every second in bed with you, making love to you, showing you how much I've missed you and how much I love you." Troy answered her request with complete honesty._

And that was exactly how they spent the first three days of Troy's visit to Spain. Both had made calls to the parents to assure them they were fine and then had turned their phones off. They made love slowly, enjoying every touch of the other's body. They lay in bed wrapped in only the sheets and blankets until simple touches turned to heated ones and then they made love again. For three days nearly every waking moment was spent together, clothing optional, no matter where they were in the apartment.

During the time wrapped in each other's arms they shared stories from their childhood, memories from high school and college, and promises for the future they wanted to create together.

"_Do you want to have kids?" Troy linked his fingers with Gabriella's under the covers and held them against the smoothness of her belly._

"_I think so." She answered. "What about you?"_

_Troy nodded his head against the top of hers and then placed a soft kiss in her hair. "I think it would be really nice to have a boy and a girl…or at least more than one, I mean. We're both only children, right? I don't know about you but I think it would've been cool to have a sister or brother." Gabriella didn't answer right away which worried Troy. _

"_Does that scare you? Cause that's not what I meant to do. I'd like to have kids, but that's something we have to decide together, after we're married and settled in." he attempted to explain._

_Gabriella smiled and squeezed his hand tighter over her belly button. "No, it's not that at all. I do want to have children with you Wildcat. I want to marry you and have both of those children that you dream about."_

_Troy smiled at her words and raised himself over top of Gabriella enough to kiss her lips and move his hands lovingly across her cheeks. "And they'll be beautiful because they will look exactly like you." He allowed his hands to start wandering as he bent to kiss her again._

"_Actually," Gabriella began, "with our genetics they'll probably have your blue eyes and blonde hair."_

_Troy raised an index finger over her lips. "One step at a time here. Let's get you home from this lovely European setting, then we'll get engaged, find some jobs and then start planning our wedding."_

The words of their conversation, every moment of those three days replayed in Troy's mind. The promises they made to each other during that time weren't just things that had been spoken in the heat of the moment.

He caught himself wiping the tears from his face, finally realizing how deep into his heart those words had been embedded. And, realizing too, that each and every word was something that Gabriella was clinging to for her…no, for their future.

Troy sat for another few minutes wondering how he could've possibly given her that ring without actually proposing to her. How could he have let the promises give way to a thought of letting her go, again?

Then Chad's words played through his mind. _"If you love her that much then you shouldn't be giving her up, you should be fighting for her."_ His best friend was right. Troy was fighting against something that wasn't even his enemy. He was fighting against his own ideas and decisions that he didn't even have to make.

With a deep breath he placed the ring box back into his pocket and headed toward the door.

* * *

Gabriella sat on the couch of Maria's home with tear stains on her cheeks. Maria listened to every word that her daughter offered. From the sobs when she first returned home to the angry expletives that Maria knew she didn't mean, to the simple unanswered question, _"Doesn't he still love me?"_

It had only been a half hour since Gabriella had pulled into the driveway of her mother's home and stepped inside the door. The 23 year old had tried again to explain to her mother what had happened in the past few hours since she returned home.

"I just don't understand Mama." She was saying softly against her mother's shoulder. "How could we make love so intimately and be as close as two people can be and then he's just willing to forget about it? I will never forget that."

Maria stroked her daughter's hair. "Honey he can't forget that. But in Troy's mind he's just doing what he thinks is best for you. I swear the two of you have got to start making these decisions together."

Gabriella pouted at Maria's words. "I can make my own decisions."

Maria looked up at the door between the kitchen and living room where the sandy brown-haired young man had nervously stepped through. She raised her eyebrow at him, wondering why he was there. In silent answer, Troy removed the ring box from his pocket and opened the lid for Maria to see.

"Gabriella, we need to talk."

Troy's voice startled Gabriella at first and angered her until she listened to what he was saying.

"Tell me again why you came home, please?" he asked quietly.

Gabriella raised her body from her mother's but wouldn't turn to look at Troy. Maria nodded at her to answer his question. "What?" she asked bluntly.

"Please tell me again why you came home." Troy repeated and waited patiently.

Gabriella looked at her mother who pointed toward the kitchen, pushed herself up off the couch and stepped around both of her children to leave the room. Troy continued to watch Gabriella as she stood, careful to keep her back toward him.

"Because I want to be Mrs. Troy Bolton, and I thought that's what you wanted too." She added in a quiet voice.

"I was wrong Gabriella." Troy started. "I was wrong to even think that I could let you go. I apologize for trying to make decisions for you. I just couldn't stand the thought of you leaving me…or even worse, the thought that you might regret staying with me."

Troy's voice cracked, weaving its way directly into Gabriella's heart. She held back her tears just enough to listen to his next words.

"This isn't how I planned to do this. There's supposed to be a tree, and a balcony, and this perfect moonlight. But I'm apparently too impatient now to wait for all of that to come together."

Maria peeked through the door at the scene that she had awaited for more than a year.

"I brought you something Gabriella. Please, turn around?"

She knew exactly what to expect as she turned to see him down on one knee. And when Troy could see her glimmering eyes he continued.

"I've loved you from the minute we sang together on New Year's Eve, before we even knew each other's names. I've dreamed of you every night since you walked through the door of our homeroom at East High. And all I want for you is what's best for you.

I have no idea how _I_ can be what's best for you. But _you_ have decided that I'm the one you want…that you'd rather be with me than halfway around the world. Gabriella Montez, I'm honored that you think that much of me, that you love me. Because I certainly don't deserve you.

But I would like to spend the rest of my life, the rest of our lives, making decisions together, loving each other and just doing my best to provide you with the stability that we both need. I love you.

Will you please do me the honor of being Mrs. Gabriella Bolton?" Troy held his breath as Gabriella walked toward him.

The sparkle in her eyes had returned. The tears that glistened in her eyes were now tears of joy, not anger or regret. As she pushed her lips together in preparation to say something Troy took the ring out of the box and held it up.

Instead of taking the ring, as he expected her to, Gabriella got down on her knees in front of him, joining him on the floor.

"I'm still mad at you. You know that, right?" Gabriella looked back into the face of the man she loved, finally seeing a hint of recognition there. "You can't just waltz in here and assume after all that's happened in the past few hours that I'm going to say 'yes'."

Her eyes betrayed her as she attempted to stay stern with her lecture. "You can't make my decisions for me Troy. I want your opinion on the choices that life is going to throw at us but unless I'm unconscious or completely out of my mind you can't make my decisions."

Troy nodded at her and pressed his lips together. "I realize that, now. But I need you to realize that I want to be part of the decision making process. Especially on the big decisions. Gabriella you can't leave me out of the loop on these things."

They stared at each other for just a moment before Troy placed the ring back in the box and sat it down on the floor in between them. He then stuck his right hand out and waited for Gabriella to grasp it as though they were shaking hands. She waited with a curious look on her face, for his explanation.

"Marriage is a partnership. It's give and take. It's communicating. It's sharing. And it's keeping promises between us, am I right?" Troy asked and gently squeezed her hand.

"Right." Gabriella agreed.

"The first time we made love…even before that, when we realized we were _in love_ with each other...we promised to talk to each other, to tell one another what was going on, what we were feeling." Troy continued.

"And we promised that we would never share that experience, that feeling with anyone else." Gabriella added.

"Right now I promise you that I will do my best not to jump to conclusions. I will try not to make decisions for you without talking to you first. And I will try not to assume that I know what's best for you…at least not _all_ of the time." Troy smiled and watched Gabriella's brown eyes nearly melt into a pool of warm chocolate.

"And I promise to tell you if any other amazing opportunities come my way. I won't just fret over them and worry about them by myself, I will come and talk to you about them so that we can decide on them together." Gabriella inched closer to Troy and gripped his hand a little tighter. "And when something amazing comes to _you_, I promise to listen and discuss it with you. Deal?"

Troy nodded as they shook hands. "Deal." Then he retrieved the ring and held it out again for her to consider.

"This is one amazing opportunity for both of us. And right now I'd really like to assume that I know your answer. Please don't make me wait much longer." Troy's nerves returned even with the assurance written on Gabriella's face.

Gabriella looked at the ring, at Troy, and then reached behind her to the couch to retrieve a small spiral bound notebook. Her shaking hands held open a page for Troy to read. The date at the top of the page he quickly recognized as the date of their senior year musical debut. Below the date were just a few simple lines.

_Dear Diary,_

_Troy drove all the way from Albuquerque to Stanford…for me. I know I'm only seventeen, but I love him. And as if that weren't enough, he told the entire school, his parents included, that he's going to U.C. Berkeley, to be closer to me, because I 'inspire his heart.'_

_If he asked me right now to marry him I'd have to say yes. That sounds pretty silly. But truthfully, I do hope someday that I can be Mrs. Gabriella Bolton._

Troy smiled as he read the last line. "Please tell me."

Gabriella held out her hand and let him slide the engagement ring onto her finger. "I have to say 'yes'." She smiled and took Troy's hands to help him stand up.

In return he kissed the ring on her finger, each of her fingers, the palms of each hand and then finally made his way to her lips as she giggled against him.

"Can we maybe have a Spain day before graduation?" Gabriella asked shyly again.

"I think as your new fiancé I have to grant your every wish don't I?" Troy's smile refused to leave his face.

Maria slid quietly into the room before the talk of wishes went too far. She too shared a brilliant smile with the young couple. Troy noticed a bit of a blush on Maria's cheeks as she stepped behind the couch to look at them.

"Why don't you guys call Coach and Luce and invite them over here for breakfast in the morning. Let them know what's going on please…before you _do anything else._" She emphasized causing both Troy and Gabriella to blush as well. "I'm gonna run to the grocery right now. I'll probably be gone about an hour. Will you both be here when I get home?"

Gabriella tried not to laugh as her mother's obvious innuendoes came through loud and clear. "Yes Mama, we'll both be here when you get back." Maria turned to head back through the kitchen but stopped when her 23-year-old daughter caught her attention.

"Oh, Mom?" Gabriella moved a finger from Troy's hair, down his neck, and over his chest. "Knock before you enter please?"

Troy choked as Maria laughed and answered simply. "Yes Ma'am."

The door closed quickly after that with Troy and Gabriella watching to make sure that Maria's car actually left the driveway. Gabriella sat for a moment just enjoying being in Troy's arms as she admired the beautiful ring on her finger.

Finally she scooted just an inch away from Troy and looked into his shining blue eyes.

"Let's try this again shall we?" she asked and smiled at his curious face. Gabriella stood up and pointed her head toward the stairs that led to the second floor, and her bedroom. She held out her hand to her fiance and smiled softly at him, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as he ran his fingers over the engagement ring and took her fingers into his hand. Gabriella tugged on his hand urging him to follow her up the stairs as she whispered.

"_Waltz with me Wildcat, I'm home."_

_

* * *

**Scenarios: Hawaii**** a book by adcgordon,**_** now available at AuthorHouse dot com; Amazon dot com; or Barnes&Noble dot com.  
Thanks to everyone for your support! KTZLF! -adc**


End file.
